Hinduism - ADITI

 


 

Who Is Aditi?

'Firm, not falling'; 'unrestrained' Mother of the Adityas and a heavenly mother-goddess (Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Daksa, Amsa and possibly Tvastra).

Aditi depicts the sky as a vast expanse of space rather than a dazzling gleam.

She is an early personification of primordial darkness, yet she is actually an infinite abstraction.

While Aditi is often mistaken with Ushas or even Prithiv (Rigveda 1.72.9), she is a cosmic anti-mother who rejects her eighth son, Martanda/ Vivasvat the sun (10.72.8f), in favor of the Adityas, the supreme asuras.

Aditi and her progeny are preoccupied with sin and punishment, unlike the devas, who are embodiments of nature.

However, with the arrival of the devas, Aditi's powers are curtailed, and she becomes Diti, the mother of the post-rigvedic demons known as the Daityas.


~Kiran Atma


See also: 

Aryaman, Asuras, Deities, Mitra,Prthivı, Samhita, Tvastr, Usas, Varuna,Vedic pantheon